A man walks past the entrance to the KBank Building in Rat Burana district, Bangkok. (Photo: Bangkokpost)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Kasikornbank (KBank) ispressing ahead with plans to become a regional digital bank, with an expansiondrive in Vietnam.
Aiming to invest more than 2.7 billion baht (about 75million USD) to fortify its service network within AEC+3 (ASEAN plus Japan,China, and the Republic of Korea), KBank has announced its commitment tobroaden its presence in the Vietnamese market in order to serve customersacross all segments with digital services.
For the Vietnam market, the bank aims to lend 20 billionbaht (560 million USD) and have a retail customer base of 1.2 million by 2023.
Kattiya Indaravijaya, KBank Chief Executive, said thatbright prospects lie ahead for the ASEAN economy post-pandemic. Aside from arecovering economy, ASEAN is known for its large marketplace with a growingshare of young people – the main driver of its economic expansion.
Moreover, the bloc's economy is set to see exponentialgrowth as more and more consumers lead a digital life, Kattiya added.
KBank President Pipit Aneaknithi said that the Vietnameseeconomy is poised to record the fastest growth in ASEAN, thanks to its hugepotential in attracting investment from around the world.
Vietnam has emerged relatively unscathed from the COVID-19crisis, and its public debt is below 60% of GDP. Vietnam also has a promisingoutlook and is set to become a newly industrialised country, with high uppermiddle-income status, by 2030, and a developed country by 2045, he added.
The Vietnamese government's policy is to promote the countryas a new technology hub for Asia. The country has a population of more than 100million people, and they are relatively young, with a working-age majority. Itsmiddle-class population has grown significantly in recent years.
Domestic consumption is projected to grow by 7% annuallyover the next three years. Additionally, spending via digital channels iscommon in Vietnam, as evidenced by the fact that more than 50% of its consumersshop online.
Pipit said that KBank aims to be the first foreign bank inVietnam to offer fully-fledged 'digital product solutions' to all customersegments.
He added that the bank plans to continuously expand into newproducts and services.
KBank currently has an overseas service network covering theAEC 3 countries and beyond, for a total of 16 nations. The newest overseasbranch is in Ho Chi Minh City, which will officially open on August 5./.
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A man walks past the entrance to the KBank Building in Rat Burana district, Bangkok. (Photo: Bangkokpost) 
